Experimental and numerical investigations of RC corbels strengthened by CFRP under cyclic loading.

Abstract

Reinforced concrete (RC) corbels have a significant function in distributing loads and guaranteeing structural stability. The durability and resilience of RC corbels are crucial due to various environmental phenomena, including corrosion, seismic occurrences, and cyclic loads. The use of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) to strengthen corbels has garnered significant interest as an effective way to improve the structural performance of these elements. Even though, the literature has discussed the efficacy of CFRP, there is a knowledge deficit on the behavior of RC corbels strengthened with CFRP under cyclic loading. The study involves both experimental and numerical analysis. The accuracy of the FE model was confirmed by the comparison with the experimental data. After validation, a parametric study was conducted on the finite elements (FE) model to examine the impact of various configurations of CFRP strips. The results demonstrated a significant agreement between the experimental findings and the numerical simulation for the load-strain response and crack patterns. Utilizing CFRP in reinforced concrete corbels significantly enhances their load-bearing capacity and stiffness while reducing deformation. This is especially apparent in configurations C2 and C3, where there is a notable 44% improvement.